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Jake Sweet
PhD Candidate


Philosophy

CUNY Graduate Center



For Feasibility Eliminativism


Journal article


Jake Sweet
The Journal of Ethics, Forthcoming

Cite

Cite

APA   Click to copy
Sweet, J. For Feasibility Eliminativism. The Journal of Ethics, Forthcoming.


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Sweet, Jake. “For Feasibility Eliminativism.” The Journal of Ethics Forthcoming (n.d.).


MLA   Click to copy
Sweet, Jake. “For Feasibility Eliminativism.” The Journal of Ethics, vol. Forthcoming.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{jake-a,
  title = {For Feasibility Eliminativism},
  journal = {The Journal of Ethics},
  volume = {Forthcoming},
  author = {Sweet, Jake}
}

Abstract: Despite its centrality in political philosophy, I argue for eliminating the concept of ‘feasibility’. Surveying standard philosophical accounts, I show that ‘feasibility’ ambiguously refers to possibility or probability, with more or less additional parameters. Because of this ambiguity, and because feasibility claims routinely omit key specifications – such as relevant agents, constraint types, or probability thresholds – I argue that feasibility claims further compound pre-existing ambiguities in possibility and probability talk. I introduce a Disambiguation Protocol (DP) for analyzing and replacing feasibility claims, and argue the DP’s effectiveness bolsters the case for eliminativism. Weighing conservation against elimination, I contend that conservationist payoffs are weak, whereas eliminativist reasons – especially ‘feasibility’s potential ideological function – are strong. Eliminating ‘feasibility’ would clarify political philosophy and, potentially, wider political discourse, while ensuring transformative political proposals are not excluded from consideration by appeal to a defective concept.


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